Cops: Man had power cut to home based on false report

A Bridgeport man who police said falsely reported a flooded basement at his estranged wife's Fairfield home, causing electric power to be cut to the property, has been charged with breach of peace.

Erik Sporre, 42, of Bishop Avenue, Bridgeport, called United Illuminating on Friday to report the basement at his wife's Sedan Terrace home was flooded and the electricity needed to be shut off. Sporre and his wife are in the process of divorcing, police said, and she lives there with their two young children.

Police said when she returned home Friday night, there was no power at the house, but at first she believed there was an outage affecting the entire neighborhood. When she contacted UI, she was told Sporre had the power turned off and they could not restore the electricity until someone from the town's Building Department conducted an inspection.

The wife called police, who informed the utility of the situation and the fact that there was no flooding in the basement. They were also told, however, a building official would need to inspect the home, according to the report.

Sporre was charged Sunday morning when police spotted him driving on Fairfield Woods Road. He was scheduled to appear Monday in Bridgeport Superior Court.